Becoming a shark....
I'm sitting at my computer at www.pokerstars.net playing a $300 sit and go. My total thus far is $3,080. We're about 25 hands into the tournament. I'm in 5th of 27. I find it funny how a game like no-limit Texas Hold'em can sweep the nation and suddenly everyone thinks that they can play. I say, put your money where your mouth is. I'm not one to talk, because I am a very avid player. However I study the game. I study how the players think, I read the expert tips, and suggestions, and I practice often. I have a fairly good record of first place finishes, and cashes, and although nobody is infallable, I do make mistakes out of frustration. As Phil Hellmuth says: "If luck weren't involved, I guess I'd win them all." This is because, at the end of the day, poker is mainly all in your head. Who can you scare? Who's skin can you get under? Who is sitting at your table, and of them, who is a weak player that will fold to a generous raise most of the time? These are the things that you need to keep in mind. It's mostly tournament strategy but it does work.
There are many time's for instance, where you could be holding 5(of hearts) and 4 (of spades) and you raise from middle position, simply because it's been folded to you, and you'd like a chance of representing a stong hand. Now, everyone folds to you, except the weak player. He actually calls your raise from first position. This is where you should not try to steal the pot, because he most likely wouldn't call you unless he was holding a monster. A pocket pair maybe, 10's or better.
My point is, you can be the chip leader all throughout the game, and get some poker balls, and try to push people around, and when someone has the best hand they WILL call you everytime, and eventually, you could end up leaving on the bubble, and that is the worst feeling. Nobody likes being the guy who goes broke one spot shy of hitting the money (usually 4th place).
Online poker is a different story. This is where assholes come who have nothing better to do with $20 then to deposit it into a real cash game and play ridculous pots, and lose right away. Usually making you call all your chips with them because you have the best hand (maybe A-K suited), and have no idea that their raising you with something like seven-deuce off suit, and catching a 7 or a 2 on the turn or river, and knocking you out. Whereas, normally with A-K, you give out a whopping raise (usually 3 to 3 1/2 times the big blind) and people with hands like 7-2, fold right away, and you have a great chance of taking home the pot with Ace high. This kind of dirty online play by people who have no idea what they're doing, really affects your game in a number of ways. These kind of people have the nerve to call themselves "online professionals". I call you extremely lucky. I do win my fair share, so I'm not complaining about my own winnings.
Okay, better return to my game before I bust out.
There are many time's for instance, where you could be holding 5(of hearts) and 4 (of spades) and you raise from middle position, simply because it's been folded to you, and you'd like a chance of representing a stong hand. Now, everyone folds to you, except the weak player. He actually calls your raise from first position. This is where you should not try to steal the pot, because he most likely wouldn't call you unless he was holding a monster. A pocket pair maybe, 10's or better.
My point is, you can be the chip leader all throughout the game, and get some poker balls, and try to push people around, and when someone has the best hand they WILL call you everytime, and eventually, you could end up leaving on the bubble, and that is the worst feeling. Nobody likes being the guy who goes broke one spot shy of hitting the money (usually 4th place).
Online poker is a different story. This is where assholes come who have nothing better to do with $20 then to deposit it into a real cash game and play ridculous pots, and lose right away. Usually making you call all your chips with them because you have the best hand (maybe A-K suited), and have no idea that their raising you with something like seven-deuce off suit, and catching a 7 or a 2 on the turn or river, and knocking you out. Whereas, normally with A-K, you give out a whopping raise (usually 3 to 3 1/2 times the big blind) and people with hands like 7-2, fold right away, and you have a great chance of taking home the pot with Ace high. This kind of dirty online play by people who have no idea what they're doing, really affects your game in a number of ways. These kind of people have the nerve to call themselves "online professionals". I call you extremely lucky. I do win my fair share, so I'm not complaining about my own winnings.
Okay, better return to my game before I bust out.